Unit 111 - Prouty Loop Wolf Pack Attacks Dogs - 6 miles from Colville

[bearpaw]

I reported this pack early this morning via email....

Unit 111 - Prouty Loop Wolf Pack Attacks 2 Dogs - 6 miles from Colville

Dear WDFW and Commission Members,
I knew this would eventually happen in Washington but never dreamed this would happen so soon and right where I live. This is getting too close, I live only 3 1/4 miles from Colville and this occurred only 6 miles from Colville in a heavily human populated area only 2 3/4 miles from my home. We have top blooded hounds worth many thousands of dollars which we depend on for my business. Other neighbors have small kids, horses, goats, sheep, lamas, and most neighbors have dogs. History has shown that wolves which attack dogs will continue to attack dogs, this has been proven in Wisconsin, Michigan, Idaho, and Montana.

Please advise me if you think these are hybrids so I can shoot them if they attack my dogs. If you think they are wolves, please come and remove them now so me and my neighbors do not get in trouble. I am going to tell you this with all seriousness, if these wolves come on our private property and start killing my hounds I am going to try and stop them, if I feel threatened by a wolf that comes toward me in the process of saving my dogs, I am going to protect myself. Please do something now, I do not want to get in trouble, these wolves need destroyed or relocated away from Colville, please just get them away from this neighborhood, this is not wolf country.

(less than 3 miles from my house and hundreds of people all around this area)

I heard about this sighting yesterday but didn't want to say anything until I talked to the guy myself and got the straight story. I have known this guy since grade school here in Colville, we went to school together. He lives on a small acreage on Prouty Loop Rd, an area with many homes and acreages mostly from 5 to 40 acres. He sees plenty of coyotes, bear, cougar, deer, moose, and he thinks he saw 1 wolf at a distance in the area around his home. My point is that the guy knows what animals look like, he has seen many coyotes around his home and knows what they look like. He has also seen pictures of wolves and says he has no doubt what a wolf looks like. Another rancher, the same rancher who reported the Smackout Pack to WDFW, has seen two wolves on his home place which is only about 4 miles from this other guys place.

Here's the story as told to me only an hour ago, I specifically asked numerous questions so I could understand what was seen:

The guy heard a commotion behind his house at his dog kennel. He ran out to take a look and saw 3 wolves face to face growling, barking, and attacking his 2 german shepherds which were thankfully inside a 6 foot high chain link kennel. The wolves and dogs were face to face with only the fence separating them. His immediate thought was that these wolves would go over the fence and kill his dogs. He ran in the house to get his gun, when he got back outside there were now 5 big wolves all trying to attack his dogs through the chain link fence. He said every one of them was as large or larger than his full grown german shepherds. He said they looked exactly like wolves with big bushy tails carried high in the air and they were all grey, except one had a lot more white than the others. They were all trying to attack his dogs.

He didn't want to shoot them and get in trouble so he shot in the air, luckily, that was all it took this time, the wolves left. He went to the kennel and said his dogs were OK but he has never seen them shake so badly as they were shaking, just like they were scared to death. This man knows he saw wolves and that they wanted to kill his dogs.

He is worried about the wolves coming back and asked me how far they roam. I told him that they can roam far and wide but if there were five it sounds to me like the single he saw before may have had pups last year, now there are 5 adult wolves, and they probably have pups again this year. If they have pups they are probably denning up in the large gated area on the west slope of Dominion Mountain right above Prouty Loop Road where he lives.

I asked him if he reported it to WDFW, no he didn't, but if they come back he will call. I told him I was keeping track of wolf packs in Washington and got his permission to talk about this. He said he didn't care if I mentioned his name but I am going to withhold his name from the public so no crazies bother him. I have provided enough info for WDFW to know exactly where this happened and they can contact me for more info if desired.

I just want these dog-attacking wolves removed, the next time they attack dogs, the dogs they attack may not be inside a kennel. Now my wife and daughter are afraid to go outside after dark. We have heard about the woman in Idaho that was held at bay by wolves when her car got stuck in her driveway and she tried to walk to her house. There is a YouTube video of her testifying to the Idaho legislature. There’s YouTube videos of the three women near Anchorage that had their dog attacked while they were walking together. There are also YouTube videos of hound owners who have had their dogs killed by wolves. What I am talking about here is a real threat that needs action.

Thanks For Any Help You Can Provide,

[sebek556]

man sorry to hear about, hope they come out and do something about this.if i had spare trail cams I would bring them up so that you could ahve photo's of the wolves to show wdfw.

[bearpaw]

How ironic, I can't believe wolves were this close. I heard about this sighting up the road and just called the guy to get the real story, I had no idea they were attacking his dogs, if you know the area, lots of people, small kids, pets, and livestock. Not a good area for a pack of wolves that wants to attack dogs in the back yard.

I figure if WDFW doesn't do anything I will ask him if I can put a camera behind his kennel. 

[bearpaw]

Now that I get to thinking about it, another neighbor in the same general area had a pig killed this spring, they thought it was a cougar but it could have been these wolves. They called me wanting me to bring my dogs, but I can't do anything unless WDFW asks.

[sebek556]

possibly the wolves killed the pig, also not sure if i would do the kennel it would be good for footage of them attacking yes, but the dogs would trigger it and huggers will probably say sump about the food lured them in to cause this attack. maybe property lines, game trails?

[wsucowboy]

Hopefully something will be done about the wolves soon, but I'm not going to hold my breath on anything happening. It's only a matter of time before more pets end up getting attacked by wolves in this state 

[bearpaw]

The most important reason for the trailcam is to capture photographic proof to post on the internet where everyone can see it. Many of the wolf sightings or cougar complaints seem to get ignored anymore. Lots of people don't even call them in anymore, just like this wolf attack. I am afraid for my hounds and for my neighbors kids, grandkids, pets, and livestock, so I am going to make sure this does not get ignored.

The worst thing is that you can't protect your property against these wolves, they have more rights than the people. 

[sebek556]

i agree completely man..

[CedarPants]

Terrifying!  Good job on reporting this, and reporting it in a matter of fact manner that demands resolution

[WAcoyotehunter]

That's too bad.  I think the way you stated the facts and the potential outcomes is perfect.  I know I would never watch any animal kill one of my hounds in the yard. 

Is there any chance that is the south range of the Smackout pack?

[bearmanric]

I'm looking Forward to the cute cudly wolves to be located in the olympic mountains and the Willapa hill's. Rick

[bearpaw]

That's too bad.  I think the way you stated the facts and the potential outcomes is perfect.  I know I would never watch any animal kill one of my hounds in the yard. 

Is there any chance that is the south range of the Smackout pack?

Good question WaCoyote, but definitely not.
They are probably 15 airmiles away. The wolves currently at Smackout are thought to be 2 adults and 3 young pups. What was attacking the dogs was 5 wolves all as big or bigger than the full grown german sheperds that they were face to face with when the owner clearly seen all 5 of them.

Now here's what is possible. All winter there was a pair of wolves on the east side of Smackout above Ione, and there was 4 or 5 adults in a pack on the west side of Smackout and in the Paradise area. Currently with only two adults thought to be at Smackout, it's possible these wolves at Colville were part of the wolves that were in Smackout last winter.

It's hard to say for sure, there could easily be three groups of wolves in the unit, but with 5 adults near Colville and 2 adults with 3 pups at Smackout, I need to upgrade unit 111 to a minimum of 10 wolves, I had it marked for a minimum of 9 wolves after three pups were seen.

There are enough wolves in just two GMU's to delist wolves in Eastern WA. If the other wolves in the Methow & Okanogan (north cascades) would get documented, we could probably delist 2/3 of the state next year.

Obviously I don't want any trouble, but let the neighborhood know if they are hybrids or get them out of here. I heard about this from another guy who is only 1 mile from the wolve sighting and he is pretty worried about his sheep herd. There is probably (guessing) about 50-100 homes within a few miles of these wolves.

[grundy53]

I'm looking Forward to the cute cudly wolves to be located in the olympic mountains and the Willapa hill's. Rick

not me..... 

[WAcoyotehunter]

The problem with the current plan isn't as much in the number as it is in the location.  NE washington will be knee deep in wolves before anyone else.  We're going to be seeing more of this before delisting ever gets dicussed.  We need to get zone management within the state accepted.  They do it for everything else.  With Eastern Wa listed as the NRM DPS there is hope...maybe, to get it seperated from the rest of WA for wolf management.  Of course, we all know that will be an uphill battle with the pro! wolf folks. 

 

There are enough wolves in just two GMU's to delist wolves in Eastern WA. If the other wolves in the Methow & Okanogan (north cascades) would get documented, we could probably delist 2/3 of the state next year.

[CedarPants]

We need to get zone management within the state accepted.

X a billion